Grand jury indicts 29-year-old man for murdering Holly Bobo

show ad

The ultimate act of heroism: Marine, 24, who jumped on a grenade to shield his comrade from blast in Afghanistan is set to receive the Medal of Honor
EXCLUSIVE 'Spoiled' cheerleader suing her parents got so drunk on vodka at home of millionaire attorney paying her fees that she 'threw up in a sidewalk garbage can'
I'm not her! Student with same name as 'spoiled' teen suing her parents is hit by internet trolls - but uses opportunity to drum up support for charity
Man who covered boy with gasoline and set him on fire 13 years ago CAN be tried for murder even though the victim died in 2011, judge rules
Entire family busted for $7MILLION shop-lifting spree: Mother, father and daughter 'used specially designed clothes to pocket thousands of stolen items to fund their millionaire lifestyles'
Divorced father ordered to pay HALF his daughter's $225,000 Ivy League law school tuition after SHE cut contact with him 5 years ago
'Diana never did tell her the truth': Royal's former chef reveals how Princess tricked Oprah into eating fatty food
She's finally forgiven him! Couple win $3million jackpot 37 years after wife's numbers last came up... but husband forgot to buy the ticket
Justice at last: Father who raped daughter from when she was three-years-old then fled to Germany breaks down as he is sentenced to 95 years after SHE tracked him down
Desperate hunt for straight-A nursing student as her parents discover she hadn't been to classes since May despite using their credit card to pay tuition
Mother and father charged after SKELETAL remains of their three-year-old son are found stashed in toy chest
Warriors of the White War emerge from their frozen tomb: Almost 100 years after losing their lives in First World War battle, melting ice reveals the bodies of the fallen
Armand Assante in desperate bid to stop foreclosure on his $3.5m horse farm as he claims he's a victim of predatory lending
MUMMIFIED body of woman who hasn't been seen 'for six years' is found in foreclosed Detroit home
Woman, 75, beaten to death with a SLEDGEHAMMER 'by her daughter and grandson after she called police to report them for growing marijuana'
An offer he could refuse! Goodfellas star Ray Liotta sues skincare company for putting his face on advert selling pock mark reducing cream
Two women 'who earned hundreds of thousands a year as high-class escorts had so much cash they hid it in air vents and under carpets'
EXCLUSIVE: Tiffani's father won a $27m Powerball jackpot when she was 11. A decade later he died broke after he blew it all on a Learjet, fast cars, bad deals and drugs. Here, she tells of her RELIEF the 'wild ride' is over
Great-grandmother, 89, spends final months in agony from horrific burns she received in the operating room after 'surgical flash fire'
'That's why you shouldn't let monkeys out of their cages': Outrage as white students unleash racist tweets after basketball game defeat to rival school
Can these jeans give you a bigger booty? Push-up design uses shading and pocket placement to create 'more junk in the trunk'
MLK's daughter faces jail if she doesn't hand over the civil rights icon's Bible and Nobel Peace Prize in family feud over proposed sale
Left as a warning: Suspected US spy killed by al Qaeda militants is chained to soccer goalposts after being executed in Yemen
Death of an asteroid: Hubble captures enormous space rock self-destructing on film for the first time

Holly Bobo went missing on April 13, 2011 when she was 20-years-old
She was last seen by her brother walking into the woods behind her Darden, Tennessee home with a man wearing full camouflage
On Friday, 29-year-old Zachary Adams was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and investigators searched his home
Danielle Darnell, who grew up with Adams, told police he made comments about Bobo in the past year
Darnell says Adams 'stalked' Bobo on a raccoon hunt a week before her disappearance
Adams is being held without bond after being charged with first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping
He is set to be arraigned in Decatur County court on Tuesday

PUBLISHED: 17:38 EST, 5 March 2014 | UPDATED: 16:26 EST, 6 March 2014

121

View
comments

A 29-year-old man has been charged with murdering nursing student Holly Bobo, nearly three years after the 20-year-old went missing in Darden, Tennessee.

Zachary Adams was arrested Friday on charges of aggravated assault, while police issued search warrants on his properties in nearby Holladay, Tennessee.

Wednesday afternoon, District Attorney Hansel McAdams announced that a grand jury had indicted Adams on charges of first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping. McAdams would not say whether Bobo's body was found on Adams' property. Adams is being held without bond and will be formally arraigned in court on Tuesday.

Bobo was last seen by her brother on April 13, 2011, walking into the woods behind her home with a man dressed in full camoflauge.

Renewed search: Holly Bobo (left) was last seen on April 13, 2011 walking into the woods behind her house with a man dressed in full camouflage. Investigators started searching the home of Zachary Adams (right) on Friday after he was arrested for aggravated assault. On Wednesday, Adams was charged with first-degree murder and especially aggravated assault

New tips: Authorities started searching Adams' property on Friday and continued throughout Sunday. Adams' house is located approximately 15 miles from Bobo's home where she went missing

At this afternoon's press conference, Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Director Mark Gwyn says members of staff and the FBI spoke with the Bobo family after the indictment, and says they were torn up over the news.

'Obviously they're devastated. They've been devastated for three years. But hopefully this is the beginning of closure for the Bobo family and they deserve that,' Gwyn said.

Danielle Darnell, who grew up with Adams, says she was interviewed by police on Friday and told them Bobo encountered Adams and friends out on a racoon hunt a week before her disappearance.

More...

'Holly was on stage and walking around the coon hunt and they basically followed, stalked her a bit,' Darnell told WBBJ. 'Karen [Bobo] even went up and introduced herself as Holly's mom.'

Darnell says Adams made a few comments about Bobo in the past year to close friends, and that she and others reported the comments to the TBI.

'I do believe he is involved along with three others. I just know from things I've heard,' she said.

Bobo was last seen by her brother on April 13, 2011 who saw her walking into the woods behind their Darden home with a man dressed in full camouflage.

Zachary Adams charged with Holly Bobo murder

Where is Holly? The search on Saturday seemed to focus on an abandoned building and well across the street from Adams' house

TBI Director Gwyn held a press conference Friday afternoon, and said he wouldn't be revealing details about the new search so as not to jeopardize the 'vital' new information they've collected.

'This is a very important time in this investigation. We're not going to say or do anything at this point to interfere with this investigation,' said Gwyn. 'Hopefully we'll be able to return Holly home safely to her parents. That's our goal.'

More...

They have not named Adams as a suspect in the disappearance yet, but neighbors weren't surprised to see authorities searching the reportedly unemployed man's property.

'Zach is always been in trouble. He's on drugs, really high. He has hurt his grandparents and a lot of people around here in different ways,' Ann LaMance said.

High: Neighbors have described Adams as a drug user. Before his arrest on Friday for aggravated assault, he was booked earlier in the week for a drug charge

The search of Adams' property began Friday, but switched to the property across the street the following day.

Close: Adams' house is located approximately 15 minutes from where Bobo went missing

His house is located approximately 15 minutes from Bobo's home on Swan Johnson Road where she was last seen.

Locals say Bible Hill Road closely connects both Swan Johnson Road and Adams lane.

On Saturday the search seemed to focus on an abandoned building and what appeared to be a well on the property across the street.

A dive team was brought in as well as cadaver dogs, while investigators took pictures and scoured the wooded areas.

A small bobcat excavator was brought in on Sunday afternoon, and dirt was also being sifted on the property.

TBI director Gwyn says the search will continue in the coming days, despite an impending ice storm.

Terrie Bromley, a close friend of the Bobo family, is one of thousands who have aided in the search for Holly over the past three years.

She told the Jackson Sun that the woods in front of the Adams home were searched before, but never the home itself.

Gone: The District Attorney would not say whether they found Bobo's body on Adams' property

Looking: A dive team and cadaver dogs were brought onto to Adams' property to aid in the search over the weekend

Broken: Bobo's heartbroken parents Karen (left) and Dana (right)

Close: Bobo went missing in Darden, and the search this weekend took place in nearby Holladay, Tennessee

Bromley says Bobo was not friends Adams or even friends with his friends.

Meanwhile, about 400 friends and family gathered at Corinth baptist Church for a 12-hour vigil Saturday.

The vigil was planned before the recent developments, which church officials take as a sign of 'divine intervention'.

'We're praying for Holly and her will being, that she will either be able to escape from her captives, that's number one; that her need be met throughout the day,' Pastor Don Frank told WMC-TV.

'At this point we still believe that she's alive. Every time that they have a search and they don't find her that gives us evidence that she's still out there,' the pastor added.

MOST WATCHED NEWS VIDEOS

Comments (121)

Share what you think

View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

momma dee, seattle, 9 hours ago

I am happy to see that there is progress on her case, i have always wondered what happened to that girl. Hopefully they have good evidence and its not a glorified witch hunt though.....

Click to rate

Paul Walnuts 12, Dublin, 9 hours ago

Hill billy head on him

Click to rate

KyukiYoshida, kansas city, United States, 10 hours ago

So he sees his sister walking into the woods with some strange man dressed in all camo, and he doesn't bother to follow, call out, or contact someone immediately? Unless holly had a habit of entering wooded areas with random men, that should have been seen as an instant danger.

Click to rate

2 of 4 repliesSee all replies

Wendy Barnes, Greeneville, United States, 7 hours ago

The brother was 25 & she was 20 leaving for nursing classes in the morning. Walking in the woods? I've always wondered about the brother. Not that he was involved but ' he thought this was normal?!' So sad.

Click to rate

Pam, Michigan, United States, 1 hour ago

He thought the guy was her boyfriend. It wasn't until he went outside and saw blood on the drive that he started to question what he saw. Why would he run out there and stop them if he thought it was her boyfriend?

Click to rate

TGreat, Gushikawa, Japan, 10 hours ago

Having never been on a raccoon hunt, the short inclusion of the event within the article, without explanation of the significance, only serves to mystify.

Click to rate

Nabucodonosor, All over the place., United States, 13 hours ago

He looks like a filthy redneck and he is an unemployed junky but unfortunately that doesn't make him a killer, hopefully they can find a body and link its DNA to this guy and end this nightmare for her family, or better find her alive which is less likely. Gob bless her family and hopefully they can soon get full resignation.

Click to rate

Nabucodonosor, All over the place., United States, 13 hours ago

It would be interesting to know the details of the evidence against this dude, so we can make conjectures based on facts not based in appearances.

Click to rate

Wendy Barnes, Greeneville, United States, 7 hours ago

Soon enough.

Click to rate

Jimblob, Hull, United Kingdom, 14 hours ago

He looks intelligent, lol.

Click to rate

sianw, essex, 14 hours ago

I hope they have got the right guy! I've followed this story since it happened hoping for updates!

Click to rate

dontvotelabour, landofthedoomed, 15 hours ago

Headline says she was dragged into the woods a couple of paragraphs down says she was seen walking into the woods! Don't you read what you've written before submitting it?